Marcin Budkowski has become the head of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. The Pole is thus returning to direct work in F1 after a four-year break. At Cadillac, he will take the place of Graeme Lowdon, who was dismissed.
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This is a very big event for the entire Polish community interested in motorsports. The Pole will officially take the position of head of one of the Formula 1 teams. Marcin Budkowski has extensive experience working in F1, but for the past four years he has been involved in other things, not working directly with F1 teams. Therefore, the announcement of his engagement with Cadillac, and during the summer break no less, is a big and positive surprise.
Marcin Budkowski took up his duties immediately, realistically he will appear at work on Monday when the summer break ends. As team principal, he will be present at all circuits and will regularly speak to the media (there will be two team principals speaking Polish). For Cadillac, this is an important transfer; they want the team to gradually develop under his leadership. Cadillac is a new F1 team that has not yet scored points this year, but it has huge potential for improvement. They have secured high-level funding, are currently expanding and equipping their factories in the USA and the UK, and have started their own engine program. They are continuously hiring new employees, and the F1 project is developing rapidly.
Graeme Lowdon was dismissed
The Cadillac team issued a long press release in which Dan Towriss (team president and head of TWG Motorsports, its operator) thanks Graeme Lowdon for his work. The Briton was the head of the Cadillac team from December 2024 to August 2026, during the period when Cadillac was just building its structures. His sudden dismissal is surprising because nothing indicated it. Cadillac is in a period of intense development and needs stability. According to Dan Towriss’s words during a teleconference, he made the decision to change the team principal. Lowdon did not expect this and was informed a few hours earlier. It seems that the team owners decided that the team must develop differently. The reason was not this year’s sporting failures and many Cadillac car breakdowns. Dan Towriss had planned earlier to replace the team principal at some point to start the next stage of development and made that decision now.
Marcin Budkowski’s career in Formula 1 so far
Marcin Budkowski has a rich career in Formula 1. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, he studied at French and British technical universities, becoming an aeronautical engineer specializing in aerodynamics. He started working in Formula 1 in 2001 with the now-defunct Prost GP team.
2001 – 2002 – Prost GP – aerodynamicist.
2002 – 2007 – Ferrari – worked in the aerodynamics department, finishing as leader of the aerodynamics team.
2007 – 2014 – McLaren – five different positions, gradual promotion until he became head of the entire aerodynamics department. He was dismissed by Ron Dennis as part of restructuring.
2014 – 2017 – FIA – Initially as coordinator for sporting and technical matters, and from 2017 as head of the technical department. Budkowski was highly regarded and took over some of Charlie Whiting’s duties. He seemed to be his natural successor at that time.
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2018 – 2021 – Renault – Executive Director. Budkowski’s move to Renault caused quite a controversy; other teams protested because during his time at FIA he visited their factories, knew secrets, and also took part in drafting regulations. At Renault, he was part of the senior management of the entire team.
2021 – 2022 – Alpine – Executive Director. He remained with the team after the name change formally in the same position, but in fact became its head, taking over the duties of the dismissed Cyril Abiteboul. He joined the company’s board of directors and represented the team on the F1 Commission.
After being dismissed from the French team, Budkowski worked as an expert during F1 broadcasts on Viaplay and Eleven Sports. He attempted to revive the A1GP series, which turned out to be a failure. He got involved in working as a manager of young drivers and also founded a company providing consulting in motorsports.
Summary
I am very happy that Marcin Budkowski became the head of Cadillac. He has a chance to make this team develop properly and in some time join the midfield competition. The Pole has very extensive experience in Formula 1, especially technical, which is very important for such a young team.
I see some excitement on social media that now some young Polish drivers will join Cadillac. This team does not have a junior program, and no Pole is even close to obtaining a super license, so currently there are no such chances, but who knows what the future will bring.
P.S. Graeme Lowdon was not only the team principal but also a long-time manager of Zhou Guanyu, who is a reserve driver at Cadillac. We will see if the Chinese driver remains with the team for the 2027 season after Lowdon’s departure.
